What we know about Brooklyn building collapse that killed eight people

Eight people have died and 18 more were injured after a three-storey building collapsed in the Flatbush neighbourhood of Brooklyn. Witnesses described hearing a loud boom and seeing dust in the air as the building came down and fell into a construction pit where people were working on Wednesday. New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, described a harrowing scene, saying workers "who had only barely survived themselves turned back and dug victims out of the rubble".

The city's fire commissioner, Lillian Bonsignore, said firefighters were on the scene within minutes and called their actions "incredibly heroic". Despite the hard rain and falling temperatures at the site, she said, their efforts would continue until every victim was located. It was adjacent to a construction site where plans have been approved for a new building that will include 64 residential units and a grocery store on the bottom floor.

Active work was happening on the site when the incident occurred. It appears part of the building fell into the construction pit next door, trapping and killing some workers.